Ant McPartlin Will Not Return To I’m A Celeb

Ant McPartlin has confirmed he will not be returning to host the next series of ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here.

Furthermore, it’s been agreed next year’s Saturday Night Takeaway will be postponed until 2020. This year has been a particularly troubling time for the prime time television host.

He has been undergoing rehabilitation since March this year after relapsing into an alcohol addiction which culminated in drink driving incident involving another family.

Questions were raised when McPartlin would be back on our screens following a turbulent year, many fans were hoping he would reunite with his long-time friend and co-presenter Declan Donnelly in time for the next series of I’m A Celebrity….

However, in a statement to The Sun McPartlin confirmed he would be taking an extended leave of absence – at least until 2019. This rules him out of any filming commitments for this year and the next series of Saturday Night Takeway.

The 42-year-old, who rose to fame on BBC’s Byker Grove with Donnelly, stated:

My recovery is going very well and for that to continue having spoken to Dec and ITV, I have made the decision to take the rest of the year off.

I’d like to thank both Dec and ITV for their continued support and I look forward to getting back to work in the new year.

While Ant won’t be flying out to Australia to film the new series of I’m A Celebrity…, co-star Dec will be heading out there. However, a decision has yet to be made whether he will host the show by himself or with another co-presenter.

Donnelly released his own statement as well in which said:

Whilst I am obviously sad at the thought of being without my best friend in Australia this year, I am proud of the work Ant has been doing privately and I am fully supportive of his decision.